'Skipped tournament due to extreme Delhi air': Danish shuttler Anders Antonsen shares AQI screenshot; fined $5,000

NEW DELHI: A day after Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt slammed the unhealthy conditions at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, the venue for the ongoing India Open Super 750, another Danish badminton player Anders Antonsen revealed that he withdrew from the tournament for a third straight year due to what he described as “extreme” air pollution in Delhi. The world No. 3 posted on Instagram: “Many are curious why I’ve pulled out of the India Open for the third year. Due to the extreme pollution in Delhi at the moment, I don’t think it’s a place to host badminton tournament.” The four-time World Championships medallist posted a screenshot of Delhi’s air quality index reading a staggering 348 as hazardous.Anders Antonsen’s decision to pull out, however, has earned him a $5,000 fine from the Badminton World Federation (BWF).This year’s India Open is being staged at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium after the Badminton Association of India (BAI) moved the tournament from the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium, also in Delhi.The Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium also set to host the BWF World Championships in August, making the India Open a designated test event.Antonsen, however, remained unconvinced. “Crossing my fingers that it will be better in the summer when the World Championships take place in Delhi,” he posted, before adding pointedly, “As a result, BWF has once again fined me $5,000.”